"Shin!" Orochimaru, who was already used to Shin's sudden appearances, smiled and said, "The experimental data comparison shows no issues!"
"There is an issue!" Shin shook his head. "And it's a big one!"
"What?" Orochimaru's hand trembled, and the scroll slipped from his grip and fell to the ground.
"According to our current experiments, yes, it does technically work," Shin said quickly, "But what we get is only a weakened version of the Sage Body, and it can't perfectly and fully integrate with the Uchiha bloodline. The particles in the body also can't reach a perfect balance. There will be significant side effects. It's just that these side effects affect potential, so they don't show up in the short term."
"This..." Orochimaru was somewhat shocked. The experiment wasn't even finished yet, how had he discovered this already?
"Restart the experimental observation of the particles," Shin ordered. "As usual, three groups at once. I'll personally oversee the control group."
"Got it!" Orochimaru acted immediately, his efficiency almost terrifying.
One of the main reasons Shin was able to completely surpass Tobirama in just a year, was because he used the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Another reason was that Tobirama's research had mainly focused on ninjutsu. As a lifelong warrior, he hadn't spent much time on other types of research.
And also, he had Orochimaru, a true genius, as his best partner. With Orochimaru's wholehearted support, every one of his research projects progressed much faster.
The two of them complemented each other perfectly. Shin made Orochimaru what he was, and Orochimaru in turn greatly aided Shin.
Sensing how skillfully Orochimaru operated the equipment, he felt a bit of lingering fear. Even if he could eventually resolve the side effects with more effort… If all he ended up with was a weakened Sage Body, what was the point?
What he wanted was a Sage Body that perfectly fused with Uchiha blood, not some inferior version like the one Madara had.
Once the experiment prep was complete, Orochimaru retrieved a glass vial from a sealing scroll.
Inside was a glowing, pure white liquid. This liquid, named "Sage Liquid" by Shin, was a pure energy extract derived from the cells of Hashirama.
He called it Sage Liquid because it was extracted from Sage particles, particles in Sage cells similar to mitochondria. These particles, or "Sage particles," were the key to gaining a Sage Body without altering a person's basic genetic structure.
At this moment, he removed the necklace Tsunade had given him from around his neck. Until now, he had always treated the necklace as a mere ornament. He had never paid much attention to Hashirama's chakra sealed within it.
But now, with his enhanced sensory abilities, he could detect an extremely unique aura from within the necklace. It now seemed that the necklace's true purpose had nothing to do with suppressing the Nine-Tails.
After all, when Hashirama left behind the necklace, he never said anything like that, not even a word of instruction.
The claim that the chakra sealed within the necklace was meant to suppress the Nine-Tails… was just wishful thinking by others.
If it really were for suppressing the Nine-Tails, why not give it to his wife? Wouldn't Mito, the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, need it far more?
Why did he keep wearing it himself? Right up until his death?
And seriously, how many times did the Nine-Tails even show up? Did he really need the necklace's power to suppress it?
That was kind of insulting!
As for others using the necklace, they wouldn't be able to suppress the Nine-Tails with it anyway, because the necklace only reacts to Hashirama's chakra. So the real focus wasn't even Hashirama's chakra. It was the material of the necklace.
After all, he wasn't born with Wood Release, and back then, his strength wasn't anything exceptional. It was only after mastering Wood Release that his power began to soar again and again. But how exactly did he learn it?
The idea that he just suddenly knew it makes no sense. The idea that he stumbled upon it by accident also seems unlikely. There must have been some kind of medium involved. And that medium was likely this necklace.
That was why he treasured the necklace so much, wearing it until the day he died.
The reason Shin came to this conclusion was because of something Mito once casually mentioned during a conversation with him. When she saw the necklace around his neck, she complained a bit about it.
She said she had once given Hashirama a necklace as a gift, but he just put it away and continued to wear this old one.
In her younger days, she had a fiery temper and was easily jealous. She once lost it and demanded to know if that necklace had been given to Hashirama by some former lover. And over time, that rumor spread, and twisted into the story that Hashirama did have a past lover.
Even crazier, there were rumors that this mystery lover had even borne his child.
Completely absurd.
Madara himself could vouch for the truth, those rumors were 100% false. If Hashirama had a past lover, the only possibility was Madara.
After forming his hypothesis, Shin immediately removed the necklace, scraped off a tiny amount of powder from it, and added it to one of the test groups in his experiments.
After a week of testing, he came to a shocking conclusion: This necklace was not a crystal gem made from Hashirama's chakra, as many believed.
In over a thousand years of ninja history, true crystal gems simply didn't exist.
The so-called crystal gem that occasionally appeared in legends were just special stones containing high concentrations of chakra. They were not the same as actual gems formed from chakra.
But this necklace… This damn thing was a mutated fragment created from a piece of the Chakra Fruit that had accidentally broken off. And the energy per unit volume contained within it might even exceed that of the Chakra Fruit itself.
Just a speck of its powder could rapidly evolve White Zetsu cells, something not even the God Tree itself could do.
Outside of being a highly concentrated, mutated fragment of the Chakra Fruit, Shin couldn't imagine what else it could be.
He didn't know what kind of transformation had occurred to make the necklace appear so unremarkable on the outside, while hiding such violent, chaotic energy within. Its function wasn't even the same as that of the original Chakra Fruit.
This point had already been verified through experiments with White Zetsu.
After another week of testing, he figured out a method to control the energy within the fragment.
Then, he made a decision. He was going to eat the necklace.
"Are you really going through with this?" Orochimaru asked helplessly, looking at Shin on the operating table.
"I am," Shin replied firmly. "As soon as I drink the medicine mixed with the necklace powder, you'll begin the experiment."
"Are you sure about this?" Orochimaru was a bit uneasy.
Their experiments had failed so many times, when had they ever succeeded on the first try?
Who just jumped straight into human testing, worse even on themselves?
"I'm absolutely sure," Shin said confidently.
His confidence came from his new insights after upgrading Tobirama's talent, as well as a year's worth of experimental data to back him up… and his trust in both Orochimaru and Tsunade.
"Alright then... Let's begin."
Shin downed the drink containing the powdered necklace and lay down. Within three seconds, the drug took full effect, he lost consciousness completely.
Orochimaru pressed a button.
Eighteen mechanical arms extended, each equipped with a syringe at the tip. They began injecting Shin's body with drugs designed to suppress the immune system and enhance cellular regeneration.
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200 = +1 bonus chapter
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50+ Advance chapters!
[email protected]/Malphegor